Seven new Ebola virus cases have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) latest Ebola outbreak, amid signs transmission is decreasing, the World Health Organization (WHO) African regional office said in an update yesterday. The new cases were reported from three areas within Bulape health zone in Kasai province.
Of the new cases, six are confirmed and one is a retrospective probable case. So far 64 cases have been reported, 11 of them listed as probable. Seven more patients died from their infections, bringing the number of fatalities to 42 for a case-fatality rate (CFR) of 65.6%. Of the deaths, 11 occurred among people with probable infections.
The number of confirmed cases in healthcare workers remains at five, three of them fatal.
“The Ebola outbreak in Kasai Province is showing encouraging signs of decline, with transmission now more localized and less explosive than in the initial phase characterized by nosocomial spread and superspreading events,” the WHO said. However, the WHO warned risks remain, and small clusters within families and close contacts could sustain transmission if sick people aren’t promptly identified and isolated.
Improvements in surveillance and clinical care
Slightly more than half of the cases are among females, and 16 infections involved children younger than 9 years old, and 15 were in young adults younger than 29 years old. Officials said deaths were concentrated in those groups, as well, and that the CFR is slightly higher in males.
Over the past 2 weeks, fewer infections have been identified in children, and the CFR has been trending downward, due to earlier case detection and isolation, along with improvement in quality of care. Nine patients have been discharged, and 13 are currently receiving care. So far, 31 have been treated with the monoclonal antibody mAb114 (ansuvimab-zykl, also known as Ebanga).
The WHO deployed 7 more experts to the field, lifting the total to 77. Several other groups are assisting with clinical care and other key response activities.
Vaccination expands in hot spots
So far, 4,115 people have been vaccinated with the Ervebo (VSV-EBOV) as of September 28, focusing on health and frontline workers, contacts, and contacts of contacts.
Apart from the ring vaccination campaign, targeted vaccination began on September 27 in high-risk populations in hot spots, which include Bulape, Bulape Communitaire, Dikolo, Bambalae, Ingongo, and Mpianga health areas. Twelve more vaccination teams were trained to support the expanded immunization activities.
So far 12,130 vaccine doses have been deployed to Kasai province.
